Associate's · Spindale, North Carolina

Is Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities at Isothermal Community College worth it?

High confidence High confidence: 100+ graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back slowly: graduates typically recover the cost in about 18 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $24,292; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $37,591; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: Not enough borrowers to report; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $23k (likely $23k – $30k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $1k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in NC; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 18 years (likely 9.9–20+); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$109k (likely −$151k – −$73k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: −$69k (likely −$159k – $17k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 50%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26